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Finance Minister Olaf Scholz is seldom at a loss for superlatives: He wants to turn the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bafin) into nothing less than financial supervision with the “best standard” in the world - the authority that is not only responsible for uncovering the billion-dollar Wirecard fraud failed miserably.

Scholz wants to turn one of the worst supervisory authorities into one of the best.

The first results should be available this year.

It has to be doubted that this will happen so quickly - if at all.

The points at which Scholz wants to start are understandable.

According to the plan, the authority will be upgraded to include special forces from all areas of the complex financial world.

There are also auditors who keep a clear view of the depths of the balance sheets.

And thanks to additional IT experts, the supervisory authority should in future be on par with financial fraudsters.

Even whistleblowers, i.e. people who come with explosive information on their own, want to finally listen to the Bafin and not send them away or even take legal action against them.

But changing the culture of an authority with 2,700 employees, who no longer just react, but should primarily act, is the real challenge.

Especially since the forces for the new “focus supervision” and “task forces” have to be found first.

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The fact that people are detained at the headquarters in Bonn may be understandable when looking at the families of the employees, but this reduces the chances.

The forces that are needed work in the financial metropolises - at banks, law firms and audit firms.

A consistent relocation of the authority to Frankfurt / Main, the German financial center, would have sent an important signal to potential candidates.

Much stands and falls with the new woman or the new man at the top of the Bafin.

He or she needs an international reputation and tremendous radiance externally and - more importantly - internally.

These are the key personnel that Olaf Scholz will have to fill in his final months as finance minister.

He will hardly have to answer for whether the German financial supervisory authority will actually have the “best standard” worldwide in a few years' time.